In the process of modernization, where and from whom could the Chinese purchase scientific products in the late nineteenth century? Although the government established one of the largest arsenals, Jiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai in 1865, to produce Western-style weaponry and promote engineering education, the Arsenal had to import scientific objects to train their engineers. However, the importation of scientific objects, including instruments and books, was a challenge for the Chinese due to their limited experience and connections with the global network of scientific commerce. This project argues that the trade of scientific products between China and the world, as well as within the country, relied heavily on personal networks in England and Shanghai. Additionally, the British East India Company’s network, which had seemingly dissolved, still supported the trade to Asia. Selling scientific products was often not the trader’s main business, as China’s demand for such goods was low then. Alongside science books, the Arsenal also imported scientific instruments to support their scientific translation project, the most renowned one in nineteenth-century China. After the scientific translations were published, they were distributed through various channels, including Chinese bureaucracy, new Western-style schools, networks for foreigners, and diplomacy between China and Japan. This project provides a more comprehensive examination of the scientific objects acquired by the Arsenal and the subsequent circulation of its translations, shedding light on China’s relationship with the global network of scientific commerce during a crucial period of modernization.